Field of the Invention
Embodiments pertain to battery watering, and more particularly to battery watering event detection.
Description of the Related Art
Electric-powered forklifts (“electric forklifts”) 100 and other electric vehicles (EVs) are being offered in the market that use vehicle batteries 102 to supplement or entirely provide power to at least one electric motor 104 for vehicle movement (see FIG. 1). Some of these vehicle batteries 102 use lead-antimony plates which require regular watering to replace water that is lost due to, for example, electrolysis on each charging cycle when plugged into battery charger 106. Battery warranties provided with the sale of these batteries 102 may require proof of watering compliance, such as by recording watering events in a log or in maintenance books. Unfortunately, such log books may be falsified or improperly maintained. Although some battery monitors for such batteries have become available to monitor electrolyte levels as one of their inputs, these electrolyte level detectors typically only measure two states: one state that indicates sufficient electrolyte level is present and one state that indicates the electrolyte level is low or empty, and not the act of providing supplemental water to the battery itself. Such sensors may only have the ability to measure a watering event if the electrolyte levels in the battery were below the safe level when watered. A need continues to exist to provide for consistent and reliable recording of watering events in batteries that require regular supplemental watering.